Down the Coast – Day 13 – Friday - July 1

Woke up and we are going to get on the road early this morning. Not a lot of miles to cover, but some hard driving down CA-1. We drop off the rental car and hit the highway with the first planned stop in Santa Cruz. A boardwalk, beach and pier should make for some fun.

We stop a couple times along the way and reach Santa Cruz around 11:30 AM. Charlotte and Jackson have decided they have no interest in the amusement park and would rather rest in the RV. That is not going to stop us, so Wendy, Georgia and I head find a parking spot for the RV and head to the beach.

We pick up a bunch of tickets and Georgia and I head to a coaster. The Giant Dipper was first opened in 1924 and is one of the oldest roller coasters in the US. The ride is fun and we agree there are more dips per minute than any coaster we have been on before. It is a wooden coaster with the old clackity-clack and starts out in pitch black with a great first drop.

Next a quick bite to eat. I spot deep fried Twinkies and can’t resist. Yum!

But this does not make for a well balanced meal, so I also grab a hot dog (they claim Chicago style – but they are something different) and a fried potato twist (whole potato cut into a spiral and deep fried). I add some cayenne pepper for some extra zip. A nice cold beer would have been nice to wash it down, but I have hours of driving down California Highway 1, so opt for a Diet Coke instead.

Next on to the Sky Rider (one that Wendy can ride) for a nice lift to the far side of the Boardwalk. We will walk the boardwalk back from there, hitting the other rides on the way. At the end is the Double Shot, a 125 foot Giant Drop type ride. Georgia would like to ride, but I opt out on this one. Then down the midway to see what else catches our eye. We stop at the 1911 Carousel to check out the Merry Go Round. It is a National Historical Landmark and the Wurlitzer organ is very rare. We hit the roller coaster once more then head to the Log Ride to cool off. Georgia grabs some nachos for the wait, but as soon as we get in line we realize it will be over an hour. We decide to hit the Rock-O-Planes instead and call it a day. This line also moves slowly, but the ride is worth the wait. I show Georgia my skills at keeping the car upside-down all the way around 4 or 5 times and then we do some loops to finish off the ride. Boy does this bring back memories of the Wauseon Homecoming and Fulton County Fair. Wendy tells us this took up 45 minutes, so we head back to the RV as we still have a lot of driving to do.

We continue south to the 17 Mile Drive between Monterey and Carmel. The original plan was to hit the aquarium in Monterey, but we realize we will only be able to spend and hour or so, so decide to spend the time stopping along the Drive. I don’t have exact directions for the start, and we struggle with the correct exit. The one I get off on takes us up a small neighborhood with a bunch of switchbacks. Nowhere to turn around and I know I should not be in this area with an RV this big. We finally find a spot to do a 3 point turnaround and head back to the highway. Turns out we were off by one exit.

We pull up to the gate house and pay the $9.50 for the drive and start winding our way through. The homes, golf courses and views from this road are magnificent. We pull of many times for photo ops and the kids all enjoy climbing the rocks to take in the sights.

They search out crabs in the rocks and Charlotte finds some Sea Anemones. We stop at Seal Point, but only a couple seals and most have migrated south for the breeding season. I would like to stop at Pebble Beach Golf Resort, but finding a parking spot will be a challenge, and you can’t see much of this course from road so we just keep moving on. Toward the end the road gets very narrow, and is becoming more difficult to drive. But most of the cars around us give us plenty of room and we make it through without any scratches.

Once out of the 17 Mile Drive, we continue south on CA-1 toward our stop for the night in Big Sur. The road now begins to get even narrower and there are no guard rails in many tight spots. Hundreds of feet above the rocks and the road dips to the right in spots where the berm has given way. I hang on with both hands the whole way and stretch at each stop to relieve the stress. The 45 mile drive from Carmel to Big Sur Lodge takes a couple hours and we pull in just before 8.

It is nice to finally be out from behind the wheel and I am looking forward to dinner. We check in at the desk and they tell us to pull the RV in behind the bus parking spots. We grab our bags and walk the couple hundred yards up hill to our cabin. I forgot that I was able to book a room with extra beds, so there is plenty of room without the blow-up bed. We drop the bags and head to the restaurant for dinner as they close at 9.

Dinner is great. I order the fresh grilled salmon, Jackson the Cuban that is as big as his plate. The waitress gives him a “are you sure” look as he orders, but we figure he can have the rest for leftovers. The beer is good, dinner great and we sit out on the deck on a perfect evening.

Back at the room, we realize there is no cell service and no TV so it’s lights out for the rest. I read a book for an hour or so on my iPad before dozing off. A long stressful day of driving but worth it for the views.